About This Class

The class will take you through the steps leading up to and including writing a script for an animated short.

Students will be encouraged to share their research, ideas and scripts with fellow classmates every step of the way.

What You’ll Learn

You will learn how to channel research and every day experiences into narrative film ideas.

You will learn how to develop fully fleshed out characters with rich back stories that are believable and appealing.

You will create the worlds they live in and know them like the back of your hand.

You will learn how to create the backbone of your idea and then push it further and make it weirder by thinking like a kid.

You will learn the importance of critical feedback through sharing work in progress with fellow classmates, friends, grandparents, the man on the bus etc.

Through critical feedback and your own instincts you will learn how to understand what is and isn’t working and the necessary evil of ‘killing your darlings’.

Throughout the phases I will be sharing personal tips and anecdotes on how to be obsessed with your subject, how to stay obsessed, and how to push yourself to make your stories more bizarre and yet surprisingly plausible.

Project Phases

The project will be broken up into phases.

1. Research and DevelopmentLearning the routine of constantly researching articles, imagery, films, novels etc. You will also by required to take up the fine art of keeping a diary (like a 13 year old girl)

2. Defining your ConceptWe will use the development stage to hone in on your obsessions and develop a concept based on them through brainstorming.

3. Character DevelopmentThrough interviews, diaries and physics you will develop rich fully realized characters, understanding their motivations and desires.

4. World DevelopmentYou will develop the world these characters live in, through the physics, logic and rules of the environment. The only required drawing in the course will see you mapping out a birds eye view of the land you have created.

5. Script writingFinally you will start the sometimes-excruciating task of beginning to write on a blank page. You will learn automatic writing, pushing through walls (not literally) and focusing on your best ideas.

Who is the class for?

The class is for anyone who wants to develop their storytelling skills by learning how to create fantastical yet believable narratives through research, character development and thinking like a kid.

Julia is a british animator and illustrator living in Brooklyn, NY. She graduated from Kingstron University with first class honours in 2007. She graduated from the Royal College of Art in 2011 with an MA in Animation.

Her short films have played at Sundance, SXSW and Annecy with awards from festivals including AFI, San Francisco and Clermont Ferrand.

Julia was named one of the 25 New Faces of Independent Film by Filmmakers Magazine. She was named on of the 37 Indie Film Brea...